# Square Appointments vs MeetScarlet: a booking site or your own app.

Source: https://meetscarlet.com/compare/square-appointments/
Updated: 2026-11-10

For a business that wants clients downloading an app with its own name from the App Store and Google Play, MeetScarlet is the better pick: Square Appointments gives you a booking site with your logo and lists beauty businesses in Square Go, a shared iPhone app. Square costs less, $0, $49 or $149 a month per location, against MeetScarlet's $349 plus $999 setup on monthly billing (free on yearly). We make MeetScarlet; every Square fact here comes from Square's own pages.

- Our pick: MeetScarlet, for an app with your own name in the App Store and Google Play, with recurring memberships and a class waitlist that fills open spots

- Square Appointments: Square Free $0, Square Plus $49, Square Premium $149 a month per location; Square Pro custom

- Square's client app: Square Go, a shared marketplace app for beauty and personal care, on iPhone only

- MeetScarlet: $349 a month; an app with your name in the App Store and Google Play

- Both: Online booking, classes and prepaid packages

- Written by: The MeetScarlet team, from each vendor's own pages, October 31, 2026

## Which should you pick?

**Who wrote this:** the team that makes MeetScarlet. We compare from each vendor's own public pages, read on October 31, 2026, not from a hands-on test of the rival. Where a vendor does not publish something, we say so rather than guess.

**Pick MeetScarlet** if you want clients to download an app with your name from the App Store and Google Play, not book on a website or in a shared app. MeetScarlet sells recurring memberships as well as packs, where we found only prepaid packages on Square's appointments pages, and its class waitlist moves the next person in when a spot opens, where on Square your team decides who to contact and when. Our team builds the app and publishes it under your own Apple and Google developer accounts as part of setup.

**Square Appointments may suit you** if a booking site with your logo is enough and price matters most, with a $0 plan, no staff limit and point of sale in the same system.

## Why businesses pick MeetScarlet over Square Appointments

- An app with your name in the App Store and Google Play; we did not find a way to put an app under your own name on Square's pages
- Only your business in the app; Square Go lists many beauty businesses in one app, on iPhone only
- Recurring memberships as well as packs; Square's appointments pages describe prepaid packages, and we did not find recurring memberships on them
- A waitlist that works without your team: for classes it moves the next person in when a spot opens, and for appointments, a waitlist per service tells everyone it fits when a time opens, and the first to book gets it; on Square, in its words, your team decides who to contact and when
- Our team builds and publishes the app under your own Apple and Google developer accounts as part of setup

## What Square Appointments costs

Square's appointments pricing page lists Square Free at $0, Square Plus at $49 and Square Premium at $149 a month, each per location, and Square Pro at custom pricing. It says there is no employee limit on staff calendars, and its booking-site page says “Change or cancel any time.”

| | Square Appointments | MeetScarlet |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly price | $0, $49 or $149 per location; Square Pro custom | $349, or $499 on MeetScarlet Pro (20 staff logins, text reminders for appointments, coming soon) |
| App your clients use | Square Go, shared with other businesses, iPhone only, beauty and personal care only; or your booking site | Your own app in the App Store and Google Play, plus a web app |
| Your name in the stores | Not offered on the pages we read | Yes, under your own Apple and Google developer accounts |
| Classes and packages | On eligible plans, per Square | Every plan |
| Staff | No employee limit | 5 staff logins on MeetScarlet, 20 on MeetScarlet Pro |

From squareup.com/us/en/appointments, its pricing page and its Square Go page, read October 31, 2026. Check Square's pages for changes.

## Where the two are alike

Both take bookings online at any hour, run group classes with a set capacity, and sell prepaid packages. Both give you a booking link to put on your website or Instagram.

## Where they differ

### Booking site or store app

Square gives each business a booking site with its logo and colors. Its app for clients, Square Go, lists many beauty businesses in one app, is on iPhone only, and does not take payments yet, per Square's page. We did not find a way to put an app under your own name on Square's pages. MeetScarlet builds your app with your name, logo and colors and publishes it to both stores.

### Waitlist

Square's waitlist, on eligible plans, is for popular services and staff, and in Square's words “your team decides who to contact and when.” MeetScarlet has two. For classes, it moves the next person in when a spot opens and tells them by push and email. For appointments, the owner turns a waitlist on per service: clients join from the booking page for up to 14 days and a time of day, and when a time opens everyone it fits is told at once, members by push; the first to book gets it, with no automatic booking.

### Memberships

Square's appointments pages describe prepaid packages; we did not find recurring memberships on them. MeetScarlet sells recurring memberships and packs in the app.

## Where Square Appointments may fit better

- A $0 plan, and paid plans from $49 a month per location, with no limit on staff calendars
- Point of sale for in-person sales, in the same system
- Free listing in Square Go, where clients can discover beauty businesses
- Management across several locations, priced per location; MeetScarlet runs one location, except car washes on MeetScarlet Pro

## Questions to ask on a Square demo

Square's public pages leave these open, so ask before you sign:

- Can I get an app under my own name in the App Store and Google Play?
- Will my clients see other businesses when they book me in Square Go?
- Which plan do I need, per location, for the features I use?
- If you leave, can you export your client list, and what comes with it?

Ask us the same questions about MeetScarlet; our prices are on the [homepage](https://meetscarlet.com/#pricing).

## Moving from Square Appointments to MeetScarlet

You import your client list from a CSV export, checked before anything is saved, and our team builds your services, memberships, packs and schedule in MeetScarlet with you. Booking and payment history stays in Square. About 4 to 6 weeks for the store apps, most of it Apple's enrollment. Your web app's link is ready during setup, and members can book there as soon as you choose your MeetScarlet plan. They keep the same account when the store apps launch.

## Questions

Straight answers. Anything else, ask us on a demo.

### How much does Square Appointments cost?

Square's pricing page lists Square Free at $0, Square Plus at $49 and Square Premium at $149 a month per location, and Square Pro at custom pricing, as it showed on October 31, 2026.

### Does Square Appointments give me my own branded app?

Not on the pages we read. Square gives you a booking site with your logo and colors, and lists eligible beauty and personal care businesses in Square Go, a shared marketplace app on iPhone.

### What is Square Go?

Square Go is Square's marketplace app where clients discover, book and rebook beauty and personal care businesses. Square says it is free for businesses and clients, is on iOS only, and does not take payments yet.

### Why does MeetScarlet cost more than Square Appointments?

MeetScarlet includes an iPhone and Android app under your own name, built and published by our team, from $349 a month plus $999 setup on monthly billing (free on yearly). If a booking site is enough, Square costs much less.

### Is this comparison independent?

No. We make MeetScarlet, and we recommend it to businesses that want their own app in the App Store and Google Play. Every Square fact comes from Square's own pages, dated, and we say where Square may fit better.

## Keep reading

- [White-label booking app A white-label booking app puts your own name on the App Store and Google Play. MeetScarlet builds and brands yours, with booking and memberships, from $349 a month.](https://meetscarlet.com/white-label-booking-app/)
- [Best salon booking apps (2026) Ten salon booking platforms compared on price, an app with your salon's name, color time and deposits, with MeetScarlet as our pick for salons with regulars.](https://meetscarlet.com/guides/best-salon-booking-apps/)
- [Branded app look, tabs and web address Set your MeetScarlet app light or dark, change its color, heading font and tabs, and see it on a live phone preview. Most changes reach clients with no store update.](https://meetscarlet.com/features/branded-app/)